It's Gainesville's driest start to the year in a century

Tuesday

May 9, 2017 at 5:31 PMMay 10, 2017 at 6:43 AM

Cindy Swirko @CindySwirko

Irritated lungs and burning eyes are making life unpleasant for much of Alachua County and the region as wildfires continue to ignite suddenly and burn up hundreds of acres as Gainesville experiences the dries start to the year in more than a century.

Through April, just 5.25 inches of rain were recorded at the official weather station at Gainesville Regional Airport — a deficit of more than 8 inches from an average year. A scant 0.06 inches has fallen through the first nine days of May.

It hasn't been so dry from January to April since 1916, when just 2.85 inches fell through the first four months of the year, according to data kept by Office of the State Climatologist. However, 2010 saw a drier four-month span — September to December — with just 2.6 inches total rainfall.

In Alachua County, two fires flared up Saturday off State Road 121 and County Road 231 and burned about 18 acres close to the Hidden Lake fire off SR 121 that charred 140 acres last month and is still smoking, said Ludie Bond of the Florida Forest Service’s multi-county Waccasassa district headquartered in Gainesville.

And on Tuesday, a fire at a homeless camp off Southwest 34th Street south of Williston Road burned an acre before it was extinguished.

“We’ve had nine fires (districtwide) since Saturday. We have fires we are still working on that are over a month old,” Bond said, adding that Alachua County’s fire danger is rated as extreme. “The things that play into that are not just drought but also fire occurrence — if we’re having a lot of fires and the conditions with humidity.”

Hot, dry weather is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, according to the National Weather Service.

May is the driest month of the year in the region with an average of 2.48 inches. The weather service is forecasting equal chances that rain for the next 30 days will be above or below normal.

Phil Peterson, a meteorologist with the weather service in Jacksonville, said relief may come in June, when the pattern daily afternoon showers typically kicks in.

“The 30-day outlook shows near normal rainfall so even though we might get some, it probably won’t be enough for the deficit we have now,” Peterson said. “Hopefully, we’ll have more of an active summer season but leading up to that, it doesn’t look too promising.”

Smoke from the massive West Mims fire that has burned more than 104,400 acres primarily in Georgia along the Florida state line drifted into the Alachua County area Monday, riding wind from the north.

Some large fires, while largely extinguished, are still smoking, including a blaze along State Road 100 in Putnam County that has burned 993 acres. The Hidden Lake fire also continues to be monitored.

It was not determined whether someone in the homeless camp started Tuesday’s blaze, but Bond said careless smoking, outdoor cooking or campfires are potential wildfire starters in the current conditions.

“It’s an example of what normally wouldn’t start a fire could right now,” Bond said. “We haven’t had conditions this bad in quite a while. And the other bad thing is that this year, we’ve had quite an increase in arson fires.”

The situation is bad throughout Florida except for the panhandle. Most counties in the peninsula have burn bans, and 31 active fires were listed by the Florida Forest Service Tuesday. They range from the West Mims fire to several in Collier County, home to the state’s largest single fire this year at 7,068 acres.